People, Purpose, and Performance with Melissa Puls of Ivanti
From The Next CMO by Planful
November 4, 2025 · 48 min · Season 1 · Episode 1
About this episode
Melissa Puls discusses her career in marketing, emphasizing people-first leadership and the evolution of marketing strategies.
After 30 years in marketing, Melissa Puls, CMO and SVP, Customer Success & Renewals at Ivanti, has seen it all: the highs, the lows, and the evolution of marketing itself. In this episode, she shares how she’s built her career around people-first leadership, purpose-driven strategy, and performance that actually moves the business forward. Melissa breaks down why B2B and B2C are outdated concepts, why it’s time to think “business-to-human,” and how aligning marketing, customer success, and renewals can transform growth. She also opens up about lessons learned from failure, how AI is reshaping efficiency and personalization, and why transparency and data-driven decisions are a CMO’s real superpowers. Whether you’re a rising marketing leader or a seasoned exec, this episode delivers practical insights on building teams, earning trust, and driving measurable impact across the entire customer lifecycle.
People in this episode
Host: Planful
Guest: Melissa Puls
Topics covered
- people-first leadership
- purpose-driven strategy
- performance
- B2B vs B2C
- business-to-human
- AI in marketing
- data-driven decisions
Keywords
- marketing
- customer success
- renewals
- transparency
- AI
- data-driven
- business growth
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Ivanti
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